Bend Fire officials have labeled yet another fire “human-caused” and referred the case to the police department for investigation.A fire that began in the kitchen of an unoccupied home in northeast Bend Thursday night is the third suspicious fire in five days which may be arson.

Shortly before 10 p.m. March 29, Bend fire crews were called to 2875 NE Sedalia Loop and found light smoke coming from the home.When firefighters made entry, they found a fire in the kitchen area and quickly extinguished the blaze, Fire Inspector Dan Derlacki said.The fire and smoke damage throughout caused an estimated $4,000 in damages to the $300,000 structure owned by Richard Golino, the inspector said, adding that there was an additional $1,000 damage to contents.The home had been vacant for several days.

In the first of the earlier incidents, a fire caused over $100,000 damage Sunday, March 25, to an unoccupied house undergoing renovation in southeast Bend, and then Monday afternoon a brush fire was set in a vacant lot.

Firefighters were called to property owned by James Pasmore at 651 SE Reed Market Road shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday, Derlacki said.They found flames and smoke visible from the unoccupied rental home which was undergoing renovation.Efforts to douse the flames were hindered by downed power lines, which were live and arcing, the inspector said.The building and contents, valued at $100,000 and $1,000 respectively, were a total loss.

A resident of a nearby subdivision called in an alarm for the second fire at 5:26 p.m. Monday, Fire Inspector Larry Medina reported in a news release issued by the Bend Fire Department.Firefighters responded to a brush fire in a vacant lot near 62425 Eagle Road in northeast Bend, off Neff Road.Fire crews arrived to find considerable flame consuming a 15-foot juniper tree, moving along the ground to nearby brush and trees.The fire was quickly extinguished, Medina said, eliminating any threat to nearby homes or residents.

All three fires have been labeled by fire officials as “human-caused”.